Page 51 of Dark Survivor
Nor did she dare contact her family, unsure whether her correspondence was being monitored.She rose… Who could she trust?She had to risk speaking to someone.
“Pause audiobook and rewind to chapter twenty-one for next time,” she said and left, trailing her hand along the walls.She’d need access to Earth or Europa.Instead of heading to her room, she paused outside Grunt’s door.It opened before she could knock.
“Come on in, Tiny.”He shut the door behind her, a solid thunk making her shiver in its finality.
“I…” She hesitated, unsure how to phrase it.
“You heard about Vic and now believe you’re not safe.”
At his words, she whipped her head up, settling her gaze in his direction.“How—”
“I see everything onboard.”Grunt sighed and sat, his chair squeaking beneath him.
Farg.It’s as bad as I thought.Tiny squared her shoulders.“How do I get off?”
“You can’t,” he said.“Europa waystations aren’t accepting applicants or refugees.You’ll have to wait until our next port.”
“The whole moon’s not available?”She bit her lip, fighting the tears stinging her eyes.
He hesitated.“’Fraid so.You can do it, Tiny.Stay in the med bay and don’t involve yourself in anything other than medical.”He rose, his chair wheeling back.With a gentle touch, he patted her cheeks with a soft cloth.“I’ll set Computer to warn you with a safe word…”
“Celestial,” she whispered, not sure whether she could believe Grunt.But why would he lie?Why would he deceive her when there was nothing to gain from it?“The last place I called home.”
“Very well.”
She caught his hand close to her face.“Who else can I trust, Grunt?”
Silence met her question.He dropped his arms, drumming his fingers on his thighs.“Captain’s ignorant, but don’t go to him; he lives in the past.Trent’s the muscle with his own demons to deal with.If the shit hits the fan, come to me or him.”
Relief engulfed her in a flood of warmth.She smiled.“Thank you.”She turned to leave.“Is my correspondence monitored?”
“No.”Grunt chuckled.“Do you want me to?”
Her shoulders relaxed at the ‘no,’ then twitched when he offered to.A laugh escaped her.“Not at all.Just didn’t want anyone reading about my whining to my parents about my inability to adult.”
“This isn’t on you, Tiny.You’ve been an excellent addition to the crew, one I don’t need to worry about.”He ushered her to his door with a hand on her elbow.
“Thanks again, Grunt.”
“Don’t mention it…when anyone’s within earshot.”
Alone in the passage, she stood there, her thoughts spinning.What was he worrying about?Sure, she got hiding this little conversation from the others, but it felt so…clandestine.Her moral compass was being tested.She scowled and crossed to her room.Never had she needed to spin the handwheel and lock herself inside.Today, she did.
Trent had mentioned once that each cabin was an escape pod in case of emergencies.She could be shot into space while she slept.
“Breathe,” she muttered when her heartbeat stuttered.“No one’s out to kill you.”
With the way her mind raced, it took her ages to drift off.
Nennjerkedawakeandlay there, reeling from having finally reached the bottom of the Amikar, even if it was in his dreams.Instead of an isolated pool with a waterfall cascading into it, large tongues tumbled over each other when they spilled onto the shore.
He sat up, sweat drenching his chest.That was an odd occurrence for a Giniiri used to extreme heat.Which meant, as his heart pounded, his reaction was emotion-based.He swung his legs off the bed and rose, summoning his symbiotes to cover the bottom half of his body in armor.Barefoot, he headed to the mess, his tablet in hand.A cup of asturo or strips of vibuy might calm him.
The silence of the ship pressed on him like the quiet of a forgotten cave.He ordered his meal and sank onto the bench.While he nibbled or sipped, he flicked through his conclusions, analyzing where the missing implants on the human bodies should’ve been.The precision of the scars along her skin couldn’t compare to the haphazard tearing of the muscles and tendons where the implants had once been fitted.Screws and metal brackets remained.No blood stained them, an indication she’d been dead when they stripped her.
A male padded past the table to order something from the replicate.Nenn recognized him by the smell alone.
“What has you awake?”he mumbled and bit off a piece of vibuy.
